Hell hath no fury like a bunch of drivers stranded. In February of 1999, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) disrupted the weekly travel of more than 2.25 million
motorists when it began to rebuild the Stevenson Expressway. The major Chicago artery had exceeded its 20-year life expectancy by nearly 15 years and needed to be replaced.
IDOT faced several roadblocks even before construction began. It was a government agency - hardly a paragon of efficiency in the eyes of John Q. Public. Plus, in a best-case
scenario, the project would muck up the daily routines of millions. In a worst-case scenario, it could spark incidents of road rage and incite civic resentment. And critics
already had a pet name for the government body. Muses public affairs director Dick Adorjan, "I've gotten many e-mails addressed to the 'idiots' at IDOT."
No Surprises
Working with Chicago-based KemperLesnik Communications, Adorjan engineered a two-pronged strategy. A grassroots multilingual campaign would keep the neighborhoods lining the
15-mile stretch of roadway - most of which were Hispanic and non-English speaking - informed of the project's progress. Additionally, the team would encourage mainstream media to
promote detours for commuters coming from outside the city (the Stevenson would accommodate limited traffic during construction.) Implementation wouldn't be easy. Commuters set
in their daily routines would hardly be willing to try alternate, and often longer, routes to work. Plus, residents of the surrounding Hispanic neighborhoods already feared their
streets would be gridlocked with overflow traffic.
Preliminary data gathered by Richard Day Research indicated that commuters recognized the construction as necessary, and would better tolerate roadway changes when given
advance warning. "The best way to characterize our approach," says Hud Engleheart, president of KemperLesnik, "was to have absolutely no surprises."
Pressing the Flesh
To break down the language barrier with local residents, KemperLesnik subcontracted a Spanish-speaking PR firm,Hernandez Garcia, to spearhead the grassroots outreach.
Community presentations on the impact and purpose of the project were scheduled in local churches, schools, neighborhood-meetings and business development groups. English and
Spanish brochures and posters were distributed. Also, local Spanish print and broadcast media were contacted and included in media mailings.
KemperLesnik also created a mascot - a 7-ft. construction worker, complete with hardhat and handlebar mustache - who appeared at various neighborhood ethnic festivals,
including the area's popular "Cinco de Mayo" parade. "Jack" worked local crowds distributing brochures and posing for photos. The kitsch helped promote positive buzz for the
project. Post-surveys indicated most residents associated "Jack" with the Stevenson construction.
Making Media Friends
When it came to mainstream local media, Kemper and IDOT went after the gatekeepers to city commuters - the traffic reporters. "[Traffic] reporters can make or break your PR if
they make negative comments about what's going on," Adorjan notes. So when construction began in February of 1999, IDOT invited more than a dozen to a formal luncheon with an
underlying theme: promote alternative routes around the Stevenson. Kemper also created an in-house "news bureau" for fielding media inquiries 24/7. And in case of a crisis, a
"war room" that could accommodate throngs of press was set up in the heart of Chicago. Higher-ups at the IDOT and KemperLesnik were accessible via pager 24 hours a day, and often
appeared on 5 a.m. morning news shows to provide updates on the coming day's commute.
Creativity was key to "not looking like a government operation," Adorjan says.
Aside from making the rounds in the ethnic communities, "Jack Hammer" appeared
on a billboard overlooking the expressway along with a "project thermometer"
that tracked the progress of construction. To keep people off the Stevenson,
alternate routes were posted on the IDOT Web site (http://www.dot.state.il.us),
which also featured nuggets about the history of the neighborhoods through which
detours passed. A Web-based contest awarded commuters with discounts at local
businesses when they identified certain landmarks in the area.
On the Road Again
Two-an- a-half years and $1.8 million (in ad and PR costs) later, the rebuilt Stevenson Expressway was completed in October 2000, two weeks ahead of schedule. Both Engleheart
and Adorjan believe the early deadline was met, in part, because of the success of the PR campaign. Workers and heavy equipment had an easier time making it to the project site,
he says, because traffic was alleviated by as much as 20%.
By campaign's end, KemperLesnik had alerted 1,000 community groups of the project and initiated more than a hundred gatherings of area residents. As for the motorists, post-
mortem surveys revealed that 80% of them felt "very or somewhat informed" about the project's progress. An even higher number (85%) indicated satisfaction with the signage and
overall traffic flow. Says Engleheart, "Everyone was willing to tolerate a little pain, so long as we were up-front about [the project's] status."
Frozen veggies: not just for dinner anymore...
A soft foam costume is a miserable place to be in the urban summer heat. That's what the poor guy masquerading as "Jack Hammer" found out while pressing the flesh at a total
of 45 festivals and parades around Chicago. The cooling fan in his costume wasn't doing much cooling, so a couple of crafty staffers hit up a local vendor for some frozen
vegetables and stuffed them into Jack's pockets. Although it did the trick (Jack was visibly relieved,) we must say that any kids who saw this happen have one more reason to
avoid broccoli and brussels sprouts at dinner. Upon further reflection, this squeamish reporter may have just become a carnivore for life...
Hammers & Nails
To put a face on those building the new expressway, Kemper alsingled out one lucky construction worker to receive a limo-ride, dinner, and an evening stay at a posh hotel that
included a pedicure and a manicure. A rough-and-tumble construction worker having his nails done is the sort of kitsch that news directors die for. Several local news outlets
carried the puff-piece.
Campaign Builders
Dick Adorjan, director of public affairs, Illinois DOT, 217/782-6953
Hud Engleheart, CEO, KemperLesnick, 312/ 755- 3592